Grace Hayden, daughter of Matthew Hayden, thanked Joe Root for his Gabba century, joking she’d stop her father from such future promises. More than Matthew Hayden or even Joe Root himself, the most relieved person after the England batter finally scored his maiden Test century on Australian soil was Grace Hayden. Root’s 40th Test hundred came on Day 1 of the second Test in Brisbane in the ongoing Ashes series, and it spared Hayden’s daughter from a very uncomfortable promise her father had made.
Before the Ashes began, Hayden had jokingly vowed to run naked around the MCG if Root once again failed to score a century in Australia. The former Australian opener could finally breathe easy when Root smashed a hundred at the Gabba last week, triggering wild celebrations from the Barmy Army. In a viral social media reaction on Tuesday, Grace, now a cricket presenter, thanked Root for the timely century, admitting this was the first time she had ever desperately wanted an English batter to do well in the Ashes.
“I was so grateful that Root scored a hundred. It was the first time in my life I wanted an Englishman to do well in an Ashes series,” she said with a laugh.Grace went on to joke that she’d make sure her father never makes a promise like that again. “Root, oh my goodness, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m disowning my father if he says he’s going to run naked around anything every again,” she declared.
Grace had earlier shared a cheeky Instagram story on the day of the century, which read: “Saving all our eyes.” Despite the century, England suffered an eight-wicket loss in the second Test match as Australia took a 2-0 lead and now stand a win away from claiming the urn. England had earlier lost the opener in Perth.
England set only a 65-run target after getting bowled for 241 runs on the fourth day of the match. Australia raced to the mark in 10 overs on either side of a 20-minute interval. The third match will start on December 17 at the Adelaide Oval with England needing a win to have any chance of reclaiming the Ashes. The fourth Test starts on Boxing Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and Sydney will host the fifth Test from January 4.
